1. They are pathogen specific which prevents microbial resistance in pathogens that are not targeted, unlike antibiotics.

2. Monclonal Abs are very well tolerated in patients with little to no off target side effects unlike some small molecules and can even be safely used in immunosuppressed patients.

3. Advancements in our knowledge of how antibodies function allows for the engineering of antibodies with immune system enhancing functions that synergistically act to boost the bodies own defenses.

4. A major difficulty in treating some pathogens is that they replicate in compartments deep within tissue where conventional treatments don’t reach high enough concentrations to effectively neutralize infection. Antibodies posses the capacity to gain greater tissue penetration and hence more effectively neutralize infection.

Inflammatory diseases

Inflammatory diseases are the result of the immune system attacking the body’s own tissues, which results in chronic inflammation that can lead to debilitating conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Chrohn’s disease and asthema. In contrast, deadly bursts of acute inflammation can be observed in patients with uncontrolled infections that causes septic shock, multi-organ failure and death.

Inflammatory diseases are some of the most common and costly afflictions in the US, with millions of Americans affected and billions spent in healthcare costs per year. Recently, our team has identified several critical novel regulatory pathways involved in the control of inflammation and cellular activation, particularly in response to bacterial antigens. We are currently testing candidate monoclonal antibodies that act to dampen the pathways involved in acute and chronic inflammation.